NEWSLETTER
What an absolute and complete horse plop call by (who else) home plate umpire Angel Hernandez.
To be sure, a batter who intentionally gets himself hit by a pitch does not have to be awarded first base. But to make that call on the pitch Hernandez just did? Kyle Schwarber got absolutely screwed:
What makes me so angry about Angel Hernandez waving off this HBP is that the ENTIRE POINT of Rich Hill's curveball is to look like it's coming right at you and then dive to the zone. A batter HAS TO HANG IN THERE. pic.twitter.com/Y55XYmMfhN
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 19, 2020
Schwarber is turning away from the pitch, like any hitter would. The pitch was RIGHT at him, but it’s a curveball, so he has to hang in there. So what the hell was he supposed to do? Dive to the ground and hope the pitch doesn’t come back? It’s the POINT OF THE PITCH.
David Ross came out to argue, but nothing was going to happen at that point. Hernandez made his (terrible) judgment call, and that was that.
You never see that call because it has to be really egregious for a normal home plate umpire to call it. I’m really angry about this, as the Cubs should’ve had two runners on base. Schwarber struck out on the next pitch to end the inning.
